Crown Resorts ups the ante on responsible gaming duties

After Crown received a whopping fine of AU$450m (US$300m), for breaching anti-money laundering laws, the casino operator has finally decided to take some stern action and has created ‘PlaySafe.‘

Crown Playsafe comes with an effort to prevent gambling harm, maximise player safety and solidify a gambling harm research and policy team, which will be led by public health research expert Dr. Jamie Wiebe.

Set to replace the current responsible gambling program, Crown intends for PlaySafe to “broaden the company’s focus from identifying and supporting those experiencing gambling harm to preventing it from happening in the first place.”

Among other actions and initiatives, Crown PlaySafe plans to prioritise four main areas, a safer gambling: future, culture, environment and system.

A safer gambling future will focus on prevention and safety programmes. A safer gambling culture will hone in on government and regulators, a safer environment will focus on supporting vulnerable players, identifying early signs of gambling harm and combining technology and data to keep track of customers.

When implementing a safer gambling system, Crown plans to build on its KYC by investing in research and data monitoring as well as testing out new harm reduction concepts and ideas to design positive experiences for its players.

Initiatives currently being introduced include mandatory pre-commitment systems at Crown Melbourne, cashless gaming on electronic table games at Crown Sydney, $10 maximum bet limits on electronic gaming machines at Crown Perth and a new Resorts-wide online self-exclusion portal.

Crown Resorts CEO Ciarán Carruthers said: “We know that we can do more to maximise player safety, which is why Crown is scaling up all efforts to introduce these initiatives that help to educate and support guests to play in a positive and safe way.”